Refugees Will Build Drones As Part Of Federally Funded Jobs Program

The Department of Labor has awarded Utica, New York, $2 million to teach young refugees how to build drones as part of a summer jobs program.

About 400 teenage refugee students living in the city will get part-time summer jobs through the program, as well as tutoring in English and Math. Those who demonstrate academic competence will then take part in a year-long drone building challenge during the school year, as the work and tutoring continues.

The 14- and 15-year-old refugee students will learn how to design a drone and then construct their own model using the lab of the local Mohawk Valley Community College, which has an award-winning drone studies program.

“It was just a population we chose to target,” Alice Savino, executive director of the area Workforce Development Board that applied for the grant, told The Daily Caller News Foundation, speaking to the decision to direct the funds specifically to refugees. “These kids are here, and they need help.”

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